


Icing On The Cake

by thatfamoushappyending (betsytheoven)



Series: Check, Please! Tumblr Ficlets [9]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Baker Bitty, M/M, Original Character(s), Single Parent Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4221957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betsytheoven/pseuds/thatfamoushappyending
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bitty's best customer is a small girl who looks suspiciously like one of the local NHL players.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Icing On The Cake

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this prompt: 
> 
> imagine of a Dad!Jack AU??I posted some, but I wanted to share it. I don’t know any kind of background for why he has a child, but I just need Jack’s child to run at him after a game & everyone to be like wat.

Eric Bittle was in love.   
  
Every afternoon, he saw his love walk through the doors of Icing on the Cake, his bakery that was comfortably settled next to the town ice skating rink. All he ever wanted to do was shove free cupcakes into their hands and make sure they were smiling, even if it was just for the little while they were in his bakery.   
  
“Hi, Mr. Bittle. I would like…Wait Daaaad. How many did you say I could get? Three? Three muffins, please!”  
  
Rose was Eric’s favorite customer, and quite possible the sweetest child to ever grace his store. This little girl was maybe four years old, incredibly smart, and had her (absurdly attractive) father eating out of the palm of her hand. She usually strolled into Icing on the Cake, small plastic purse in one hand, while the other hand practically pulled her father along with her.   
  
Oh, and her dad seemed to be completely in awe of his daughter at all times. This girl was clearly this guy’s whole world, and man, if Eric didn’t already know he found kind dads attractive (that  _caring_  instinct), this man would have sealed the deal.   
  
“How had business been, Mr. Bittle?”   
  
“Jack, you know neither of you have any reason to be calling me Mr. Bittle, right? You’re two of my best customers, and definitely my favorites.”  
  
“I  _told_  you we’re his favorites, Papa!” Little Rose turned to Eric with the biggest eye roll he had ever seen a four year old pull off. “I  _told_  him, Bitty.”  
  
“Oh so it’s Bitty today?” Eric smiled as he leaned across the counter to talk with Rose. 

She nodded carefully and looked up at Jack with a smile. “All of Papa’s friends have nicknames for each other.” 

Eric nodded with a fond smile as he handed Rose a pirate cake pop. “Uncle Shitty showed me all about how to give people cool names. So, you’re Bitty!”   
  
Bitty probably would have appreciated that Rose had been talking to her dad’d friends about him, but his brain was stalled on this precious child cursing so casually. Apparently Eric wasn’t the best at masking his emotions, because Jack’s ears had turned pink as soon as Rose skipped over to the nearest table.   
  
“She doesn’t know it’s a bad word. Shitty is my best friend, and his nickname just sort of… stuck? I’m so sorry.”  
  
Eric laughed and shook his head. He wrapped up a fresh loaf of bread for Rose’s sandwiches that week (“Papa bought store bread last week. It was icky, don’t make me eat it again, Mr. Bittle!”), and a slice of maple apple pie for Jack, even though he had protested against sweets many times. Eric always caught the small smile Jack shot him after opening the bag to find a surprise pie slice while Rose ate her snack. Those were the best days. 

And then there were days where Jack didn’t come into the shop.

Rose always did, somehow convincing all of the adults in her life that she required an almost constant stream of sweets. A man with an extremely well-groomed mustache often wandered into the store with Rose chattering with him about the state of gender roles. For the meager age of four, Rose had already learned from this mustachioed man that she could be both a pirate and a fairy because neither were determined by your body parts, which you didn’t get to pick. She was so delighted by the concept that she had to borrow the bakery’s phone to inform her Papa of the good news: she could be a pirate and still wear her pretty dresses!  
  
Other days, Rose was accompanied by an older couple that looked suspiciously familiar. The man looked like an older, wearier, but sometimes…happier? version of Jack. The woman was absolutely stunning and she looked like she had walked straight out of a fashion magazine, but with a kind smile that reminded Eric so much of his own Mama. 

No matter who she arrived with, little Rose was always talking about her Papa. Jack always looked at her like she hung the galaxy, but to Rose, her father  _was_  the galaxy. Eric had never seen a cuter family, with sweeter friends. 

His conclusion was only proven one night in April when his friend Chris Chow, who Rose had named Chowder, got them tickets to go watch the local hockey team, the Providence Falconers, play the San Jose Sharks. 

Around the end of the second quarter, Eric looked around only to find Rose sitting politely down by the Falconers’ bench with the Mustache Man, or Uncle Shitty, as Rose had introduced him a few weeks after naming Eric, “Bitty.” It wasn’t until he really started watching his favorite little munchkin that he realized she was specifically watching Number 1, Zimmermann.   
  
Oh. 

Bitty had only ever seen this level of attentiveness from Rose on things connected to her Papa. And really, all it took was a quick google search on his phone to pull up Zimmermann’s photo and…  
  
Jack was a professional hockey player. Bitty honestly felt a bit idiotic for not realizing earlier, but he hadn’t played hockey since high school, so he was only vaguely following the local Falconers and hockey in general.   
  
However, realizing that Jack was actually an amazing athlete (he scored twice on the Sharks!) was not the most emotionally exhausting part of the night. No, that came after the Falconers won the game, much to Chowder’s dismay, and the little figure that practically jumped in Zimmermann’s arms. 

Jack pulled her onto his shoulders and the two just skated around the rink for a bit, while the stands cleared out a bit. Chowder pushed Bitty closer and closer to the rink until Bitty was cornered against the rink between Uncle Shitty and Chowder.   
  
“Bitty! Chowder! You guys watched the game too?” Rose squirmed atop her Papa’s shoulders, so he skated over to the box and set her down. She bolted over to Bitty and Chowder, but Bitty could only stare at Jack. 

He was sweaty in the most beautiful way, if that was even possible, and he looked incredibly at peace. Jack's daughter was giggling in the background, he had led his team to a great victory, and a smile seemed to slide unconsciously onto his (beautiful) face.   
  
Jack looked over at him and his smile stretched a bit further.

“So I guess this means I should stop feeding you my terribly unhealthy but amazingly delicious baked goods?”   
  
Jack tipped his head from side to side, “You can’t. I ate a slice of your pie before the game and we won, and I am not risking breaking that good luck charm.”

“Oh, so you’re just using me for my lucky pie, I see how it is, Mr. Famous Hockey Player.” Eric waved his hand at the impossibly tall man.   
  
“It’s pronounced Jack.”   
  
They both ended up with silly smirks dancing between them, until Rose popped up from no where, with a too-innocent smile.   
  


“So Bitty… Uncle Shitty wanted me to ask you if you ever considered making your own wedding cake. I am asking,” she looked back at Uncle Shitty with a dubious look, “I am asking for  _science_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I'm a sucker for kid fic so I will take any excuse to write one (or twelve)! 
> 
> And if you for some reason felt kudos weren't enough, [my ko-fi page is now up & running!](ko-fi.com/kimske)


End file.
